I thought the Republicans typically held ownership over the statement “Do as I say, not as I do.” Perhaps you found it a bit too Inconvenient to stand behind the beliefs you espouse in your film–but you’ve left this temporary non-consumer feeling let down and wondering if your “Truth” is more fiction than fact. I just read the article in USA Today about your big house livin’, oil stock ownin’, non-wind energy purchasin’ ways, and I’m feeling, well, disappointed to say the least (thanks to my Bush-loving Dad for pointing me to the article).
I recognize that flying on a plane to promote your film is part of your job. And I also realize that a house in both TN and VA could be justified as necessary for someone who keeps one foot in national politics. But come on, can’t you shell out the few extra bucks for the wind energy? How much consideration does that really require?
Please don’t leave us hanging the way you did in 2000. Fight back. Tell us you drive a Prius and you always recycle and you try to eat organic, locally grown produce and you use compact fluorescent lighting and that last year you planted at least one tree and that you’re writing a check today for wind energy.
I haven’t shopped for unnecessary items in 30 days, I’ve gained five pounds, and to top it all off, I have to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow. You might understand why I’m feeling a little pissy. This news came at a weak moment for me, Mr. Gore, and I need to know you practice what you preach. I’m eagerly awaiting your rebuttal to these accusations. Don’t make me face my dad and hang my head in shame!
Sincerely,
Perri Kersh
Consumer-free Mom in Chapel Hill, NC
Enough is Enough 
Like the zen masters who are discovered sleeping around (Alan Watts) and garbologists who don’t recycle (William Rathje, author of Rubbish: The Archaeology of Garbage), our leaders and heroes often disappoint. I have not found, however, that their failings in any way spoiled the impact of their message, especially over time. Not to have delivered their teachings because they felt they did not live up to their own ideals would have been the greater tragedy.
Amanda
As I understood Al’s movie, he was talking about one specific problem, global warming that comes from CO2 emissions. The best way to solve this problem is by having people in government that are willing to regulate the energy and car industry in very specific ways – upping the fuel efficiency of cars, etc. I did not hear him say that everyone had to change every aspect of their lifestyle. So, as usual, right wing media outlets like “Macpaper” (i.e. USA today) make it all about Al when it’s really all about our choices in who governs and what we expect government to do. If this issue is left up to individual choice, we are in big trouble. The same is true of most public health problems – seat belt use, vaccines, passive smoke exposure, gun regulation, etc. Government has to play a role in getting people to do what is the greatest good for the greatest number.
Fair points both of you . . .and it isn’t restricted to the heroes of progressive causes who fail to live up to their ideals, Bill O’Reilly (Is Lying Meany) and Rush Limbaugh (Is a Big Fat Idiot), being two recent cases in point. I don’t think Perri hopes Gore rushes out to live for the next year in a redwood tree either. Personally, I find the USA Today’s strain of almost ad hominem attack in the face of a powerful argument pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. I remember doing my history thesis as an undergrad (The Presence of Irony in American Environmental Political Thought 1908 – 1968 . . .in case anyone wants a copy) and being disappointed to learn that my icon du jour, Roderick Nash, owned several houses (none of them with solar power!). Ultimately, these details don’t override the point of his most widely read book, “Wilderness and the American Mind,” which has to have sold well over 1,000 copies (which in turn makes his turn as a real estate baron all the more perplexing . . .who knows, maybe it’s a Horatio Alger story). But Perri has a point too . . .if we’re all in this together, let’s all be in this together. Of course, she did go to Wal-Mart the next day. Did you know, by the way, that Wal-Mart is responsible for 20% of all retail sales in the US? Of course you do . . .you all listen to NPR as well. Anyway, I don’t think you can fault us for not listening to the message and doing the best we can. I’ve worn the same pair of socks for a week.
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